Polished rod protector and blow deflector



Sept. 6, 1966 L. A. JOHNSTON 3,270,810

POLISHED ROD PROTECTOR AND BLOW DEFLECTOR Filed Feb. 13. 1963 2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. LESLIE A. JOHNSTON BY/MW ATTORNEYS sept- 6,1966 L. A. JOHNSTON 3,270,810

POLISHED ROD PROTECTOR AND BLOW DEFLECTOR Filed Feb. 15. 1963 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. LESLIE A. JOHNSTON ATTORNEYS United StatesPatent 3,270,810 POLISHED ROD PROTECTOR AND BLOW DEFLECTOR Leslie A.Johnston, 1225 E. 18th St., TulsmOkla. Filed Feb. 13, 1963, Ser. No.258,294 Claims. (Cl. 166-84) This invention relates to a polished rodprotector. More particularly, the invention relates to a device forprotecting polished rods as used in the oil industry for pumping wells.

In my co-pending application filed July 25, 1962, having a serial numberof 212,292 for a Polished Rod Protector now Patent No. 3,186,722, I haveset forth a polished rod protector particularly adaptable for use toprotect the polished rods utilized on beam and hydraulic type pumpingunits for pumping oil wells. This invention relates substantially toimprovements, modifications and alternate embodiments of the prior filedapplication.

It is an object of this invention to provide a polished rod protectorfor use in protecting polished rods of oil wells including improved andsimpler means of mounting the protector on the oil well.

Another object of this invention is to provide a polished rod protectorfor use in protecting the polished rods of oil wells including improvedmeans of disengaging the device from the stuffing box.

Another object of this invention is to provide a polished rod protectorfor use in protecting the polished rods of oil wells including improvedblow deflection means in the device.

Another object of this invention is to provide an integral blowdeflector device for oil wells for use to prevent the spraying of oiland salt water when the stuffing box of the well fails.

Another object of this invention is to provide a blow deflector devicehaving improved means for readily mounting the device on an oil well.

Another object of this invention is to provide improvements in a bellowsmember as utilized on a polished rod protector including reinforcingmeans to substantially prolong the life of the bellows. These and otherobjects and a better understanding of the invention may be had byreferring to the following description and claims taken in conjunctionwith the attached drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a portion of an oil well showing a polishedrod protector according to this invention mounted on the well.

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view of the polished rod protector and aportion of the bellows as taken along the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of an alternate embodiment of this inventionshowing the invention serving as a blow deflector mounted on thestufling box of an oil well.

FIGURE 4 is a top view of the blow deflector of FIG- URE 3 with the blowdeflector shown pivoted open to disclose means whereby it is readilymounted onto or dismounted from an oil well.

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 55 of FIGURE 3of the improved blow deflector embodiment of this invention.

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an improved bellowsas utilized on the polished rod protector of this invention showing ameans for reinforcing the bellows to substantially extend the life ofthe bellows. FIGURE 6 shows the bellow substantially compressed.

FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional view of the improved bellows of FIGURE 6showing the bellows expanded.

3,270,810 Patented Sept. 6, 1966 ice This invention may be described asa polished rod protector. More particularly, but not by way oflimitation, the invention may be described as a polished rod protectorfor use with an oil well pumping system having a polished rodreciprocated through a stuffing box, said stuffing box positioned adistance above the surface of the earth, the polished rod protectorcomprising a hollow bonnet member supported to said stufling box, saidbonnet member having an opening in the top and bottom surfaces thereofto receive said polished rod, said bonnet member having an exhaustopening therein, and a bellows member aflixed at its lower end to saidbonnet member to said upper opening in said bonnet member,

said bellows member receiving said polished rod therein, said bellowsmember affixed at its upper end to said polished rod.

Referring first to FIGURE 1, the polished rod protector of thisinvention is shown in plan view, the protector being indicated generallyby the numeral 10. The polished rod protector is shown supported to astuffing box 12 as typically used on an oil well, the stufling box beingin turn supported on a pumping T 14 which is afiixed to a well head 16.A polished rod 18 is reciprocated within the stufling box, pumping T andwell head and connects to a sucker rod string (not shown) which extendsto the bottom of the well to reciprocate a pump. Produced oil flows awayfrom the well through a tubular lead line 20.

The polished rod protector consists of a hollow bonnet member 22 havingaffixed to its upper end a bellows 24. The upper end of the bellows 24is affixed to the polished rod 18 such as by means of a clamp 26 and thelower end of the bellows is aflixed to the upper end of the bonnetmember 22.

In the preferred embodiment the bonnet member 22 consists of a lowerportion 28, which serves in the manner of a base for the device, and anupper portion 30. The lower portion 28 is supported to stuffing box 12such as by means of chains 32v which extend beneath all or at least someportions of the stuffing box 12 and through eyelet openings 34 inbrackets 36 afiixed to the lower portion 28 of the bonnet 22.

The upper portion 30 of the bonnet 22 is supported to the lower portion28 such as by means of suitcase type releasable clamps 38.

An exhaust outlet is provided in the bonnet member 22 such as by meansof provision of an integrally formed tubular extension 40. The outletextension 40 provides means for air to breathe in and out of the bonnet22 as the bellows 24 is reciprocated up and down with polished rod 18.To retard dust entering into bonnet 22 and to conduct away any blow-byoil or water which may occur due to the failure of stufling box 12, adischarge conduit 42 may be affixed to the tubular extension 40 such asby a clamp 44. The discharge conduit 42 preferably terminates near thesurface of the earth 46 so that any oil or water which is discharged byfailure of stufiing box 12 will be conveyed to the earth immediatelyadjacent the well rather than sprayed over surrounding vegetation.

The details of construction of the polished rod protector of FIGURE 1may better be seen in the crosssectional view of FIGURE 2. A resilientseal pad 48 is provided between the stufling box 12 and the lowerportion 28 of the bonnet 22 so that the interior of the stufiing box 12is sealed in close communication with the interior of the bonnet member22 through the lower opening 50 in the bonnet and opening 52 in the sealpad 48, each of which openings receives the polished rod 18therethrough.

An upper opening 54 in the bonnet member 22 receives the polished rod18. The bellows 24 may be affixed to the upper end of the bonnet member22 in a variety of 3 ways. One means is by the use of a circular clampring 56 which holds the end portion of the bellows against the uppersurface of the upper portion 30 of bonnet 22 by means of screws 58.

A ring seal 60 is preferably provided between the lower portion 28 andthe upper portion 30 of bonnet member 22 to effect a complete seal ofthe bonnet member.

Affixed to the lower interior portion 28 of the bonnet are upstandingbrackets 62 which support a gasket member 64. The gasket member 64 ispreferably constructed of some material such as plastic, rubber and soforth, which has long wearing characteristics. The gasket member 64 ispreferably provided with a groove 66 to receive the portions of thebracket 62 by which it is supported. Although the gasket member 64 maybe of a multitude of configurations it is preferably provided with anintegrally formed radially extending flange portion 68 which serves todeflect any oil, salt water, gas or mixtures thereof which may escapeout of the stufling box 12 and through openings 50 into the bonnet 22.The flange 68 of the gasket member 64 prevents the blowing contaminantsfrom passing upwardly through the upper opening 54 of the bonnet andthereby prevents the contaminants from being blown into the atmosphereand widely disbursed. Any accumulation of oil, gas or water escapingfrom stufling box 12 will pass out of the bonnet 22 through the exhaustopening 70 communicating through the tubular extension 40 as shown inFIGURE 1.

The gasket member 64 has an opening therein to receive the polished rod18. The opening is preferably slightly larger than the polished rod 18so that the gasket member is not in substantial friction engagement withthe polished rod but the annulus between the gasket member and polishedrod is so small as to prevent the passage of any consequential fluid orgases therethrough upon the failure of stufiing box 12.

Referring to FIGURE 3, an alternate embodiment of the invention isshown. The embodiment of FIGURE 3 serves substantially the purposes ofthe polished rod protector of FIGURE 1 and FIGURE 2 except that noprovision is made to protect the polished rod from dust. Whereas theembodiment of FIGURE 1 and FIGURE 2 is primarily adapted to be used invery dusty locations, such as frequently occurs in the western portionof Texas as an example, the embodiment of FIGURE 3 is pri marily adaptedto prevent damage to vegetation and property adjacent a well upon thefailure of a stufling box. In highly populated areas such as the westcoast of the United States where high pressure wells are locatedadjacent residences and other valuable property, great amounts of damagemay occur when the stuffing box fails and the oil, salt water and gasare sprayed into the atmosphere to be carried by the winds over largeareas. In many of such areas there is no dust problem so that it is notnecessary to protect the polished rod against dust,

but a requirement exists to protect adjacent property owners from damagewhen a stuffing box fails. This is substantially the purpose of the blowdeflectors of FIG- URES 3, 4 and 5.

Referring first to FIGURE 3, the device is shown in an external planview and consists basically of a bonnet member 22 supported to the topof a stufling box 12 in the same manner as described for FIGURE 2, thatis, by the use of chains 32 extending below the stuffing box 12 andthrough eyelet openings 34 in brackets 36. An integral tubular extension41) is provided, with FIGURE 3 shown having the extension 40 extendingtowards the viewer. A clamp 44 is provided to receive a dischargeconduit (not shown).

Referring to FIGURE 5, the device is shown in crosssection. The bonnet22 is provided with an upper opening 54 and a lower opening 50. Seal pad48 seals the interior of the bonnet 22 in closed communication with theinterior of the stufling box 12. Supported in the upper opening 54 is agasket member 64 substantially identical to the gasket member as shownin FIGURE 2. The gasket member 64 is provided with a groove 66 toreceive the upper opening 54 of bonnet 22. An adjustable clamp 72 holdsthe gasket member 64 in proper position around the polished rod 18. Ashas been previously described, the gasket member 64 may be made of anymaterial such as rubber, plastic or so forth which has long wearingcharacteristics and which will not score or abrade the polished rod 18.The bore of gasket member 64 is preferably slightly larger than theexterior of the polished rod 18 for reasons previously mentioned. Thegasket member 64 is likewise preferably designed to include an integralradially extending flange 68.

The blow deflector of FIGURES 3, 4 and 5 provides a means of containingany blowing gas, oil and water which may escape from the stuffing box12. The gasket member 64 prevents any harmful quantities of the fluidescaping past the polished rod 18 and contains such fluid within thebonnet 22. The contained fluid and gas may then be vented throughexhaust opening 70. By means of a conduit (not shown) connected totubular extension 40, escaped fluid or gas may be conducted to some safedisposition.

A means of readily mounting the bonnet 22 on a well and about polishedrod 18 is shown in FIGURE 4. The bonnet member 22 is bifurcated into twoportions designated as 22A and 22B. A hinge 73 supports the portionstogether so that the device may be easily mounted around the polishedrod 18 and around the gasket member 64. Although a variety of means maybe provided for supporting the two halves 22A and 22B together, thepreferred arrangement is to design the halves so that each includesone-half of the tubular extension 40. In this manner, by means of clamp44, as shown in FIG- URE 3, the two halves are supported together.

The polished rod protector of FIGURE 1 and FIGURE 2 utilizes a bellowsmember to shield the polished rod from blowing dust and dirt. In mypreviously referred to copending application I have set forth a means ofconstnucting a bellows by joining discs of plastic or some similar typeflexible material at the outer and inner alternate peripheries. This isan inexpensive and completely satisfactory means of providing a bellows,except that when a highly flexible material is used to manufac ture along bellows member, a great amount of stress is placed around the innerperipheries of the upper portion of the bellows and a high incidence offailure may occur. FIGURES 6 and 7 show a means of providing an improvedbellows. The bellows is constructed primarily of flat circular sheets ofplastic material 74 arranged in adjacent uniaXial relationship withalternate outer peripheries of the flat circular sheets joined at 76.This is accomplished by Welding the outer peripheries 76 by theapplication of heat and pressure to the plastic and, according to theplastic used, bonding cement may also be utilized.

Each of the flat circular sheets 74 are provided with an opening 78which receives the polished rod as the device is applied to protect thepolished rod according to this invention. The bellows is. completed inits basic formation by bonding together the inner peripheries 80 ofalternate discs 74. Bonding of these is likewise obtained by theapplication of heat and pressure, or, when necessary, the application ofa cement. The bellows thus formed is satisfactory except, as has beenpreviously mentioned, there is a great amount of strain placed by thecontinuous expansion and contraction of the bellows at the innerperipheries 80. An important element of this invention is the provisionof means of reducing the incidents of failure at the inner peripheries.

To substantially improve the life of the bellows, reinforcing discs 82made of some resilient material are applied to each side of the bondedinner peripheries 80. The reinforcing discs 82 are likewise providedwith an inner opening 84 substantially conforming to the opening 78 inthe flat circular body discs 74. The reinforcing discs 82 are of anexterior diameter less than the flat body discs 74 and preferably of adiameter approximately onehalf of the diameter of the body discs 74,although the external diameter of the discs 82 may vary according to thedesign of the overall bellows and the types of mate rials used. Thematerial composing the reinforcing discs 82 is preferably of a resilienttype easily bonded to the material used to manufacture the flat circularbody discs 74 and preferably is of the same material as the flat bodydiscs 74. The reinforcing discs 82 are preferably of a material havinggreater stillness or a material which is less flexible than the materialutilized for the body discs 74. This may be accomplished, although thesame material is utilized, by using material having greater thicknessthan the material utilized for the body discs.

FIGURE 7 shows the bellows of this invention expanded and disclose themeans whereby the reinforcing discs 82 serve to strengthen the bellows.The extra stiffness of the reinforcing discs 82 causes the flat bodydiscs 74 to expand in a curved are rather than a sharp angle at theinner periphery 80. This distributes the tension as the bellows isexpanded and contracted and more completely distributes the area of foldand flexing. In this manner, the overall body discs 74 assume the Weightof supporting the lower sections of the bellows 24 rather thanconcentrating the stress in the immediate areas of the inner peripheries80.

When the inner peripheries of the reinforcing discs 82 and the main bodydiscs 74 are bonded or welded together they become, in eifect, a unitarystructure having highly increased strength.

Although the invention has been described as it pertains to polishedrods of oil wells operated in a vertical position, it can be seen thatthe principles of the invention may equally as well be applied to theprotection of reciprocating rods, plungers and so forth operated in ahorizontal position.

Although this invention has been described in a certain degree ofparticularity, it is manifested that many changes may be made in thedetails of construction and the arrangement of components withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of this disclosure.

What is claimed:

'1. A polished rod protector for use with an oil well pumping systemhaving a polished rod reciprocated through a stuifing box, said stufiingbox positioned a distance above the surface of the earth comprising:

a hollow bonnet member supported to said stufiing box, said bonnetmember having an opening in the top and bottom surfaces thereof toreceive said polished rod, said bonnet member having an exhaust openingtherein; and

a bellows member aflixed at its lower end to said bonnet member at saidupper opening in said bonnet member, said bellows member receiving saidpolished rod therein, said bellows member affixed at its upper end tosaid polished rod.

2. A polished rod protector according to claim 1 including a blowdeflector positioned in said bonnet, said blow deflector comprising:

a gasket member having an opening therein receiving said polished rod;and

bracket means extending from the interior of said bonnet membersupporting said gasket member intermediate the interior top and bottomof said bonnet member.

3. A polished rod protector according to claim 1 including means ofdetaohably supporting said bonnet member to said stufiing box, saidmeans comprising:

a multiplicity of bracket members aflixed to and extending from saidbonnet member, each of said bracket members having a notch openingtherein; and

chain means received by said notch openings of said bracket membersextending below portions of said stufiing box.

4. A polished rod protector according to claim 1 including a conduitmeans communicating with said exha-ust opening in said bonnet member,said conduit means terminating adjacent the surface of the earth.

5. A blow deflector for use with an oil well pumping system having apolished rod reciprocated through a stufiin-g box positioned a distanceabove the surface of the earth comprising:

a hollow bonnet member sealably supported on said stufling box, saidbonnet member having an opening in the bottom thereof communicating theinterior of said bonnet member with the interior of said stufling box,the bottom opening receiving said polished rod, and an opening in thetop thereof;

a gasket member sealably supported in said top opening of said bonnetmember, said gasket member having an opening therein reciprocablyreceiving said polished rod, the bonnet member having an exhaust openingtherein;

a multiplicity of bracket members afiixed to and extending from saidbonnet member, each of said bracket members having a notch openingtherein; and

chain means received by said notch openings of said bracket memberextending below portions of said stufiing box for detachably supportingsaid bonnet member to said stuffing box.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 913,286 2/ 1909Heeter 166- 84 958,862 5/1910 Durham 741'8.2 1,418,612 6/1922 Beard16681 1,507,628 9/1924 Schuyler 16684 2,050,702 8/1936 Jackson 7418.2 X2,149,040 2/1939 Binder et al 74--18.2 X 2,214,428 9/1940 Miller 166-812,634,812 4/1953 Al-lemang 1668'1 2,673,615 3/1954 Humason 166-84 X2,674,474 4/ 1954 Lister 166-84 3,019,663 2/1962 Breunich 74-18.23,041,885 7/1962 Christiansen 7418.2 3,045,606 7/ 1962 Schmidt 74-18.2 X3,064,984 1-1/1962 Mickle et a1 277----178 3,109,662 11/1963 Bergstrorn277178 CHARLES E. OCONNELL, Primary Examiner.

C. D. JOHNSON, D. H. BROWN, Assistant Examiners.

1. A POLISHED ROD PROTECTOR FOR USE WITH AN OIL WELL PUMPING SYSTEMHAVING A POLISHED ROD RECIPROCATED THROUGH A STUDDING BOX, SAID STUDDINGBOX POSITIONED A DISTANCE ABOVE THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH COMPRISING: AHOLLOW BONNET MEMBER SUPPORTED TO SAID STUFFING BOX, SAID BONNET MEMBERHAVING AN OPENING IN THE TOP AND BOTTOM SURFACES THEREOF OF RECEIVE SAIDPOLISHED ROD, SAID BONNET MEMBER HAVING AN EXHAUST OPENING THEREIN; ANDA BELLOWS MEMBER AFFIXED AT ITS LOWER END TO SAID BONNET MEMBER AT SAIDUPPER OPENING IN SAID BONNET MEMBER, SAID BELLOWS MEMBER RECEIVING SAIDPOLISHED ROD THEREIN, SAID BELLOWS MEMBER AFFIXED AT ITS UPPER END TOSAID POLISHED ROD.